CHICAGO (WLS) — Community activists and lawmakers rallied together on Monday to demand Weiss Hospital reopen, saying they will not let their only neighborhood hospital vanish without a fight.

A group of Uptown residents and elected officials says the closure leaves a critical gap in healthcare access for the North Side’s most vulnerable populations.

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“Like many Medicaid patients, I didn’t own a car and relied on public transit to get to doctors’ appointments. The convenience and comprehensive care kept me coming back even when I had a full-time job with health insurance,” said Peter Fugiel, a former patient of Weiss Hospital.

The troubled medical facility, which struggled with broken air conditioning earlier this summer, closed six weeks ago after federal health officials found its corporate owner failed to comply with regulations. That decision cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding, effectively forcing the hospital to shut down.

Community activists called out the hospital’s owner, Resilience Healthcare, and its CEO, Dr. Manoj Prasad.

“How do you have an institution that swears it is for the people and by the people come in and close its doors to same people it swore to protect?” said 46th Ward Ald. Angela Clay.

In a statement, Prasad said he is doing what he can to reopen Weiss Hospital but that it was operating at a deficit and on the verge of closing when his company acquired it three years ago. Prasad says he has repeatedly appealed to lawmakers to make grants available to pay for essential repairs.

Democratic Illinois state Sen. Mike Simmons, who represents the 7th District, says the state is prepared to provide the hospital with $4 million in return for proof of how the money will be spent.

“I can’t tell you how many times we have sat in the hospital with Dr. Prasad and his staff to find out everything they need to make this a state-of-the-art facility,” Simmons said.

Wednesday is the deadline to appeal the termination letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. Prasad says he plans to file the appeal on time in hopes of reopening the hospital.